


Eyes Wide Open

by eonims



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Drama, Eventual Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-01-20 19:21:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18531517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eonims/pseuds/eonims
Summary: Kim Mingyu was not always like this.Or maybe he was but never fully understood until he saw a world that is unknown and unseen to most eyes.Super powers? No.Try... supernatural.





	1. Seeing is Believing

**Author's Note:**

> based on the manga Yurara no Tsuki & the one wild dream I had about ghosts... sorry.

When he was younger, Mingyu would hear voices from time to time.

It wasn't a constant event but every so often, there would be a voice seemingly out of nowhere. He'd asked those surrounding him if they heard them too, only to recieve confused glances or chiding remarks for being a child with an over active imagination.

His parents would tell him the voices were just sounds caused by the wind or the echoes of people who were passing by from neighboring vincinities. 

Being a child meant that his parents and anyone older than his elementary school self were the be-all-know-all to his knowledge. So, he believed them and carried on building sandcastles with quiet murmurs in the back of his mind.

 

 

"I mean... what do they say? The voices."

"Most of the time it's pretty mumbled? I've never fully paid attention to them. It's like background noise, you know? Although, there are moments when I hear things like 'why' or 'how'."

"Hmm... maybe the voices you're hearing are your conscience!" his best friend, Boo Seungkwan, suggested one day when they were swinging outside during lunch break.   
  
"My what?" Mingyu asked. He bent his knees backwards to slow down his motions to match those of Seungkwan.  
  
"You know...." Seungkwan replied with a long drag of his  _o_ 's as every annoying child likes to do when drawing out their time to respond. But knowing Seungkwan, Mingyu knew the boy was doing it purely to clearly show that he has the upper hand on the topic they're about to divulge into.  
  
"No I don't... why do you think I'm wasting my time asking if I knew what you were saying?" Mingyu said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
Seungkwan launched off his swing, landing on the sand covered ground with both his feet together, arms above his head - as if dismounting off a trampoline - before twirling around on his heels to face Mingyu with a smirk, "For a kid who always gets praised for being the 'best boy', you're pretty clueless to everything outside of things like long division and spelling onomatopoeia without taking a breath."  
  
"First, you should give up on your Olympic Gold medal dreams. You're not going to make the cut for the gymnastics teams if that's how you land, a squatting duck looks more graceful. Second, you're not answering my question," Mingyu pouted.  
  
"It's not my fault you're actually not as smart as the teachers think you are!! And haven't you heard the story of the ugly duckling? The day I become a graceful swan, you'll regret the day you called me a squatting duck, Kim Evil Doer Mingyu!!"  
  
"What do you mean evil doing?! I can't hurt a fly and you know it! I just told you I hear voices sometimes, how does that make me evil!? You're not explaining what this conscience thing is all about!?"  
  
"Well, I'll enlighten your educated-yet-somehow-not-educated self. I'm learning things from my noona. She's taking some class in high school about the brain or something and she told me we all have this thing called a conscience. It's like a voice of reason in our heads that helps us make decisions? Or something along those lines... If you've never heard of it, you probably don't know what the difference between right and wrong or good and bad. So for that, I'll forgive you for your comment about my landing before because you clearly don't know any better," Seungkwan shrugged.  
  
"You could've just said that in the first place and saved us both more time to enjoy our game of tag," Mingyu sighed while digging his feet into the sand below him to stop swinging.  
  
"Huh? When were we playing tag? OH MY GOD!! Did your brain go from loose to looney tuney!? First voices, now he's lost touch with reality!? Quick! How many fingers am I holding up?!"  
  
Mingyu slowly rose from his swing and made his way slowly over to a panicked looking Seungkwan who had all 10 fingers out in front of him. His friend really was what everyone liked to say _overdramatic_.

"We were playing since...... TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Mingyu giggled uncontrollably as he booped Seungkwan on his head and made a quick dash away. He looked back briefly to see Seungkwan's face quickly shift through varying emotions: shock to confusion to anger as he chased after Mingyu.

 

 

After that day, Mingyu deemed the voices he heard as his conscience speaking to him. Although, he found it odd how the voices didn't aid him in any decision making processes.

Maybe Seungkwan didn't tell him the full definition and purpose of a conscience? Because Mingyu was still slightly confused as to what a conscience was. He doubted Seungkwan was fully attentive to what his noona told him, his friend probably missed the part that your conscience could tell you things about feelings too.

The voices Mingyu heard were so full of...

S _adness?_

_Anger?_

_Fear?_

_Confusion?_

Mingyu couldn't tell but there always seemed to be feeling attached to the voices and that pained him. He lived a fairly average 12 year-old life with good friends, good grades, and a loving family so he never felt anything but happy. The voices  _said_ otherwise.

_What is going on?_

He shook his head. He was thinking way too much about this and would have to ask Seungkwan about it the next time he sees him back at school. They were on their spring break and Seungkwan was back home in Jeju. 

Mingyu could be patient. It's only a week. Nothing life-changing was going to happen to him in 7 days.

 _Right_?

 

 

Mingyu was making his way home alongside his mom from the grocery store. His mother had suggested they walk today instead of taking the car because the day seemed  _nice_. She had scolded him during breakfast for spending most of his spring break cooped up in his room with no sun or fresh air.

Mingyu was focused on counting the number of clouds slowly rolling into to cover the blue, sunny sky when the wailing of sirens took his attention back to ground level. His mother pulled him a little closer to her, away from the edge of the sidewalk.

"Don't walk too close to the edge, Mingyu. I don't want you to be so near the vehicles when they come speeding pass, alright?"

Mingyu was still nodding as he turn to faced away from his mother to watch the numerous amount of emergency vehicles rush pass them.

The stillness and the silence following the momentary ruckus always left Mingyu feeling unsettled. 

He was shaken out of his thoughts when a raindrop hit his cheek. He hears his mother say, "Let's get home quickly, Mingyu. It looks like the rain is going to start any moment now."

They were a couple blocks shy of home when they had caught up to all the emergency vehicles that had rushed pass them before. They were at the site of the accident.

There were police cars being used as barricades, officers had halted traffic and were directing traffic manually, pedestrians were being told to move back as a crowd was starting to form around the intersection. 

"What do you think happened?" Mingyu had to raise his voice in order for his mother to hear. 

"It looks like a traffic accident of some sort... let's try our best to make our way around the crowd. Stay close okay, Mingyu?"

As they were moving around the crowd slowly, Mingyu was able to pick up tidbits of the surrounding conversations.

"He ran the light..."

"The girl had no chance at that speed..."

"She looks so young..."

"... such a tragedy."

"Ah... the poor girl."

Putting the pieces together, he suddenly felt a solemn feeling creep up inside towards this unknown stranger. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard one, small voice over the crowd.

" _Why me....?"_

He snapped his head in the direction of the voice.

_Me?_

" _Why didn't you stop? Why did you have to be going that fast? Why?"_

Mingyu had all but forgotten his mother's words to stay close. He made his way towards the crowd - towards the voice. 

_"Why did you do this to me...? Why?"_

He made his way through to the front of the crowd and caught a glimpse of the chaos. A car with a shattered windshield, a dented hood, a backpack and shoe thrown off to the side not too far from the car. Then his eyes moved to a white sheet laid out in front of the car. 

No one needed to tell him what was under that stark, white sheet. 

But what confused him was...  _a girl._

She was standing right there, next to the body. A huge gash on her forehead accompanied her split lip amongst other cuts on her hands and legs. Her uniform all crinkled and ripped. She was missing a shoe. And she was...  _crying._

_"... **WHY ME?!** "_

A sudden gust of wind picked up out of nowhere. People were covering their eyes, clutching onto their belongings as dust and debris flew up all around them. 

The wind was strong enough to lift the edges white sheet covering the body in front of Mingyu, just enough for him to get a glance of the face.

 

_It's...her..._

 

Mingyu had to rub his eyes and take another look at the girl standing next to the body.

 

There was no way... _no._

 

This was not _real_...

 

The rain started pouring then. The paramedics had made their way over to the body and were moving about to place it on the stretcher. 

_"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! NO! I HAVE TO GET HOME! MY MOM IS WAITING. TAKE ME TO HER! PLEASE!"_

Mingyu watched as the girl's cries were falling on deaf ears.

He watched her face shift in horror as her hands went straight through the paramedics as they were moving her body.

He watched as she followed them, crying and begging to take her home. 

He watched as no one in the crowd around him reacted to the girl who was now desperately banging on the side of the ambulance but to no avail - her hands made no contact, they slipped right pass the thin iron walls. 

He watched as people dispersed, the conversations dying down. No one sparing her a look. The realization hit him - _no one can hear or see her but him._

He watched as the girl fell to her knees and sobbed. 

 _F_ ear manifested into him in that moment.

Mingyu had felt fear before.

He felt fear when he was seated at his desk and realized he had forgotten to study for his math test that day. 

He felt fear when he failed said math test and had to show his parents the results.

He felt fear when he dropped one of his mother's favourite plates and it shattered upon impact with their tiled kitchen floor.

Fear manifests itself in the unknown. The unknown circumstances of his action caused fear. Although unknown, the fear he has experienced from said events was justifiable - relatable to others if he were to retell his experience. 

Nothing could compare to the fear he felt in that moment. 

He heard his own heartbeat racing in his ears. His body was numb - unable to move, unable to think. 

_The voices..._

 

_This whole time..._

 

_Were..._

 

_Ghosts?_


	2. For the First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this on my phone so sorry for any errors! 
> 
> Happy reading!

Mingyu found himself in a predicament.

He was standing on the sidewalk out front of his school, eyes wide, and gripping his phone until his knuckles were white.

His parents always told him to enjoy the world around him and put his phone away when they're together. He begs to differ the moment he took his eyes off his phone.

 

In plain sight (for Mingyu at least): a ghost standing right in the middle of the school doorway.

 

Ever since his first encounter with ghosts at 12, they never stopped. On that particular day, he convinced himself what he saw was some sort of trauma from witnessing an accident.

The only problem was, he never stopped seeing and hearing them.

He tried his best to avoid all encounters with the spirits but they were futile. His unplanned meetings were terrifying at the start and gave him nightmares every time.

More than half a decade and a growth spurt later, they were still terrifying but he got better at hiding how his hands would tremble.

On the bright side, he never had to actually interact with a ghost directly. He would just observe from a distance but now...

It was right there.

Mingyu took a deep breath in through his mouth and out through his nose. That's supposed to help, right?

"Come on, Mingyu! Get a hold of yourself. You're going to be fine. There's nothing you can do but get moving and face your fears."

He was about take a step when an arm suddenly found itself wrapped around Mingyu's shoulder.

 

Mingyu let out a shriek.

 

The arm shrieked back. 

 

"Dude, what the hell?! Eww... why are you all sweaty?!" Seungkwan pulled back the arm he had swung on top on Mingyu's shoulders. Pulling a face that was a mixture of disgust and shock. 

"You don't go around casually grabbing people Seungkwan!" Mingyu yelled back while clutching his chest, trying to remember how to breathe. 

"Ever heard of the term, 'surprise'? I heard you giving yourself a mini pep talk before I decided you need a surprise with my presence. What's up?"

"Your presence is more of a pain than a surprise."

"They say no pain, no gain. Your pain qualifies you for a gain... Moi, Boo Seungkwan." 

"Please stop batting your eyelashes at me..."

"But stop changing topics! What's up? Why are you so jumpy?"

"Oh... uh, it's nothing! Just worried for the upcoming math test later. I didn't get as much sleep last night from cramming last minute."

"I don't know why you're always so worried about your marks. You're passing, good enough!"

"Why do I bother with you?" Mingyu rolled his eyes. 

"I would like you to kno-"

_Rrrrring._

Saved by the bell, Mingyu thought as he started walking away.

"Wait for me! My legs aren't as long as yours!"

Mingyu halted suddenly leading Seungkwan to ricochet right off his back. He had forgotten why he was still outside in the first place - the ghost was still there.

Mingyu gulped. Pulling Seungkwan tightly into his side and before any protests can be heard, Mingyu made a beeline straight through the doorway.

And...safe! Mingyu thought to himself.

He was about to let out the breath he was holding, only to have all the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stand straight up.

He felt a chill run all the way through his spine.

He was deaf to whatever Seungkwan was saying as he turned around.

 

The ghost.

 

She was focused on him.

 

Staring, curiously with a tilt of her head. 

 

In a blink, she vanished.

 

".... gyu. Earth to Mingyu!"

"Huh?" Mingyu blinked back into focus when he saw Seungkwan's hand coming into his line of sight.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"What? I mean ye.... nope."

Seungkwan sighed. "You've been spacing out a lot recently. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything is fine! Come on, let's get to class!"

"You know things aren't okay when you sound excited for a 9 AM class," Seungkwan grumbled.

 

 

  

"Ahhh, what a long day!" Mingyu yawned while he stretched his limbs out.

"At least you get to go home now! My brain hurts. Choosing the best answer always has me second guessing... teachers just love to play mind games with us. And now I have practice to go to," Seungkwan mumbled with his head planted on his desk. 

"As past Seungkwan, as of 8:55 AM today said: no pain, no gain."

Mingyu reached over to give Seungkwan a nice, hard slap on the back. 

"Um, Ow?! What the hell was that for!?"

"That's for scaring the life out of me this morning!"

"Watch out, Mingyu. Holding grudges will turn you into a ghost when you die from your weak ass heart giving out at the slightest breeze. I'll watch you suffer while I'm in Heaven." 

"Mhm. Sure. Ghosts aren't real," Mingyu chuckled nervously.

Right. Ghosts. 

He had  _almost_  stopped thinking about the one he saw earlier. His day was uneventful but the encounter this morning left him feeling unsettled. 

For one, it was too quiet. Minus Seungkwan running his mouth non-stop at every chance on every topic, Mingyu didn't hear a peep from any spirits. 

He also couldn't seem to shake the feeling of making eye contact with the spirit. Her eyes held something - a knowing look? 

Almost like she  _knew_ he could see her. 

"Anyways, I'm off! See you tomorrow Gyu!" Seungkwan's voice shook Mingyu from his thoughts. His friend got out of his seat and patted Mingyu on the head as he left class. 

Mingyu started packing up his stuff when their class president, Choi Seungcheol, approached him. 

"Hey Mingyu! I know this is super super last minute but would it be okay if we switched classroom cleaning assignments? I promised Jeonghan we'd go out after the math test and forgot that it was my turn to clean today."

"Umm sorry, Seungcheol. I already planned to have a nice relaxing date with a pizza and Netflix all evening."

"Come on, Mingyu!! I'll take 2 of your assignments next month for this. Any days you want off, you can have! Please?" Seungcheol pulled out his signature puppy eyed, pout.

_"Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact. Don't ma- oh. I made eye contact."_

Mingyu sighed. Everyone was right, there's no saying no to Choi Seungcheol's puppy eyes. 

"Alright, alright! Put your pouts away for Jeonghan. 2 for 1? Plus a lunch and it's a deal."

"Yes! Thank you, Mingyu! Just let me know when and where. See you later, kiddo!" Seungcheol beamed as he reached up to ruffle Mingyu's hair as he walked out of class.

Mingyu sighed and checked the wall on the clock.

3:28 PM.

Other students were still idling around so Mingyu had to wait for them to leave before he could start. He sends Seungkwan a text that he's staying later so they could head home together and Seungkwan replied with a thumbs up emoji. 

He sat back down and popped in his earphones. He'll just wait it out while listening to some music. 

His eyes were wandering as he was jamming out to his music and he found himself looking out the window. 

It was still bright out. He could see some students leaving the premises while others were hanging around with their friends enjoying the nice weather.

His gaze slowly made it's way up from the ground. His eyes were trained on the trees and neighboring roof tops momentarily until he was met with a pair of eyes.

 

_Eyes? Wha-_

 

Mingyu's eyes widened and he froze. 

 

It was her - the ghost he saw this morning. 

 

_"You can see me, can't you?"_

 

_Oh shit._

 

_No._

 

_This is not happening._

 

Mingyu was use to seeing and hearing ghosts, he never reserved any plans to converse with one.

 

 _Ever_.

 

Mingyu was panicking in his seat. His hand were gripped tightly into fists. He felt his fingernails dig into the palm of his hands.

What does he do? Just ignore her and hope she goes away? Or... answer?

He decided to go with the safest option and ignore her. He turned to focus his vision back to the front of the class.

_"Are you... ignoring me?"_

Mingyu continued his act and tried his best to tune out the voice. He turned the volume up on his phone, hoping the music would drown out her voice. 

The next time he looked out the window, she was gone.

He leaned back in his chair and was in the process of letting out a sigh of relief when she reappeared.

 

Not outside the window this time but right in front of him. 

 

The feeling of release suddenly vanished along with his seat. He fell to the floor. 

_"I knew you could see me!"_

Mingyu starred up at her. He had no idea as to what was happening or how to react.

He quickly scanned the classroom - everyone was gone. He whimpered.

He didn't know if he felt relief from no one seeing him and learning his secret or fear that he was now alone with an angry ghost. 

_"Tell your friend to get out of my seat! He's not allowed to sit there as long as I'm around!"_

"W-what? Why would you need that seat?"

_"I'm the rightful student who should be sitting there."_

"You're a ghost. You're... dead. You don't belong amongst the living anymore," Mingyu whispered. 

The ghost stared at Mingyu, as if processing the words he was saying. 

All that could be heard was the ticking of the clock mounted on the front wall. 

Mingyu was sure only a couple of seconds have passed. His eyes wandered to the clock to see the seconds hand moving painfully slow.

The air in the room suddenly turned stiff.

He looked back at the ghost and oh... She was was not having it.

_"I **AM** the rightful student, assigned to that seat! If I'm still around, **NO ONE** is taking it from **ME**! It's time for your friend to **GET. OUT!** "_

The room went dimmer as all the lightbulbs suddenly blew. Mingyu curled himself into ball using his arms to shield himself from the oncoming shards raining down. 

He looked up and she was gone. 

 

_Oh no._

 

_Seungkwan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> au seungkwan is me hehe
> 
> Sorry for the lack of wonwoo but he's going to be in the next chapter!!
> 
> Happy pride & stay beautiful 🌈  
> em.


	3. Not The Only One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written on my phone again since I've been writing every chance I have (e.g. commuting to work, late nights at 4am, etc.)
> 
> Let me know if you see errors!

He couldn't tell if his struggle to breathe was from the anxiety of an angry ghost en route to do who knows what to his best friend or if it was from what felt like endless kilometers sprinted to get to said best friend. 

Probably both?

Definitely both. 

What had expired in the classroom felt like his first encounter at age 12 all over again. Mingyu counts it as another first that he'd rather not have experienced: the first  _actual_  interaction with a ghost, check.

His body never fails to forget how to react like this is his first ever ghostly experience.

He couldn't feel anything besides the pounding of his heart.

And fear.

He sat curled up for a while, needing his nerves to settle before hulling himself up shakily like a baby learning to take its first steps. He glimpsed at the clock.

3:55 PM.

Seungkwan was still at practice which means the ghost still has a great chance of finding him.

As much as he claims to hate Seungkwan, the boy is his best friend in the world. They became acquainted in 2nd grade when they argued over what colour a rose should be.

Seungkwan insisted on red, the colour of love, while Mingyu wanted yellow, the colour of friendship.

Their teacher suggested to mix both colours to create orange - a combination of their two different personalities, fiery passion and loyal friendship. They both nodded at the idea and like that, they've been in their bickering-give-take friendship ever since.

The memory popped into Mingyu's mind and it gave him the strength to start running. 

He needed to protect his best friend. 

 

 

Mingyu had finally made it to the gymnasium doors. He just about ripped the doors off its hinges at the speed he pulled it open. 

Once inside, he frantically scanned all the bodies tumbling and moving around the different mats laid out for practice.

He was looking for one specific head of blonde hair. He felt like his eyes were moving at a rate faster than his heart was beating from the overexertion of running all the way across the campus and fear that his best friend was in harm's way.

But a quick scan revealed no head of blonde. 

Mingyu felt the world slow down.

He could feel his heart beat even harder.

The all too familiar blood pounding loudly in his ears. 

Panic was setting in.

Where the  _fuck_ was Seungkwan...

 

"Gyu! What're you doing here?"

Mingyu spun around at the sound of his name being called and let out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding, "Seungkwan..."

Seungkwan gave him a quizzical look, "Why do I keep seeing you in some gross sweaty state today?"

"You're okay...?"

"Um, yes? Didn't I tell you practice ends at 4:30?"

"Oh. Uh. Yeah. Sorry I finished up early and nodded off for a bit waiting. I thought I was late. I ran here without checking the clock to spare myself the headache of you nagging me for being late."

Seungkwan scoffed, "You have a phone that tells you the time, Mingyu. And clocks. Everywhere. We're not living in the era of sun dials anymore."

They both heard the shrill of a whistle and looked over. 

"Seungkwan! Break's up! Back on the floor!"

"Yes, coach! I'll talk to you after okay, Gyu? Go take a breather outside. I'll meet you by the pool after!" Seungkwan called as he was walking backwards to make his way back to practicing for his Olympic dreams.

Mingyu nodded and waved a hand above his head to signal he was off.

Mingyu exited the gymnasium. He put his hand over his heart and patted it. It was still racing but a load was taken off... he sighed as relief slowly calmed his frazzled state. 

He slowly made his way outside. A light breeze hit him when the doors opened. Mingyu welcomed the gush of air. It helped him breathe normally again.

The sun was now slowly making its way to the horizon. The premises were mostly empty now except for anyone who was finishing up extracurriculars.

Mingyu made his way to the empty bleachers that surrounded the pool. He climbed up a couple of rows before throwing his bag and himself down. He laid down, using his bag as a pillow to keep his head propped up.

He starred up at the clouds that were slowly migrating across the sky. A few moments of peace and quiet.

He looked for different patterns amongst the clouds, anything to distract his mind for the time being. He closed his eyes and started going through the events of the day. 

He didn't believe it himself. He  _spoke_ to a ghost... or more like he severely pissed one off.

Mingyu covered his face with both hands and tried to take some calming breaths. All of this was happening too fast - to think it was only Monday. 

Despite how drained he felt, his mind wandered back to what happened with the ghost. She was so angry but then... disappeared?

What does that mean? What is she doing? What about her saying 'Get Out'? 

Mingyu rubbed his temples and sighed. At least she was gone for now. He had time to prepare for another encounter.

But how do you deal with supernatural beings?

Google?

A psychic?

Or maybe this is all some weird fever dream?

He laid the back of his hand onto his forehead to check his own temperature when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket,  distracting him from all the thoughts conjuring up in his mind.

It was Seungkwan. He had texted Mingyu that he'll be out in a bit because practice ran a bit later and his coach still had some final words for him. 

Mingyu replied with a thumbs up emoji and that he was already waiting at the predetermined meeting spot. He locked his phone and slipped it into one of the side pockets of the bag under his head.

He hadn't realized how much time had passed. Now that he's looking up, the sky is starting to slowly tinge shades of orange and pink.

The surrounding areas were empty and silent. When the breeze hit him this time, Mingyu shivered. The school grounds seemed  _almost_ serene if not for the events of the day. Thinking about it now, the area felt eerie.

Seungkwan better hurry up because Mingyu was one, getting slightly cold and two, totally ~~not~~ starting to scare himself. 

Within the next 10 minutes, Mingyu heard the echoing of feet hitting the pavement. He sat up to see Seungkwan making his way towards the fenced off enclosure of the pool.

He checked his phone quickly.

5:08 PM.

Seungkwan made his way into the enclosure and stopped by the side of the pool. He put up one finger to wordlessly tell Mingyu to wait while he was bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"You're late!"

"Give me a moment to catch my breath! Did you not see the finger!?"

"Do you not see my finger?" Mingyu grinned as he gave Seungkwan the middle finger. 

"If I weren't so tired I'd be up on those bleachers beating your 6'2 ass down before you even saw what was coming. Anyways, fuck you too and let's go home."

Mingyu chuckled as he started grabbing his things and making his way to down the bleachers. 

At least the day was over.

 

_SPLASH._

 

Mingyu looked up, "What was th-"

He trailed off to see the spot where Seungkwan  _was_ standing, now vacant. 

 

"HELP!"

 

Oh no.

 

This is not happening. 

 

The ghost. 

 

She was back. 

 

Seeing his best friend struggling to keep above water set off something within him. There was no time to let fear consume him.

In seconds, he leapt off the remaining steps down from the bleachers, dropped all his things and ran to the side of the pool where the ghost had pulled Seungkwan in.

Mingyu grabbed and held onto Seungkwan's hand. Pulling with all his energy to try to get his friend back above the water.

"Let him go! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"

_"He needs to GET. OUT."_

"Are you fucking insane!?" 

_"I told you that was my seat! If your friend won't go, then he can die too!"_

Mingyu's eyes went wide. He slowly felt Seungkwan's hand slipping out of his grasp. 

"He never did anything to you! Let him go!"

_"I SAID HE NEEDS TO GET OU- AHHH!"_

The ghost lost her grip on Seungkwan for a second as something seemed to distract her. Mingyu used the moment to pull hard onto Seungkwan's hand to free him from the ghost's grasp.

Pulling him up onto the pool side, Mingyu felt the adrenaline pumping as he helped his friend sit up, "Shit! Seungkwan! Hey! Can you hear me!? Seungkwan!?"

Seungkwan was spluttering and coughing uncontrollably. His face showed fear and confusion.

Mingyu grabbed his friend's face and tried to calm him down, "You're okay. Deep breathe. You're safe now."

"What the fuck just happened!?"

Mingyu didn't even get to process the question before he heard a scream.

He looked up to see the ghost was now out of the water, her feet skimming the surface. 

If Mingyu thought she looked angry in the classroom, he was wrong. 

She was furious now.

Seungkwan looked like he was about to cry or pass out. Mingyu was pretty sure he didn't look any better.

 

_"Both of you... should... PERISH!"_

 

The ghost was launched herself straight towards them. The last thing Mingyu remembered was pushing Seungkwan out of the ghost's trajectory. 

He closed his eyes and braced himself for her hands to grab hold of him and probably choke him to death or whatever it was ghosts did to harm people but...

 

Nothing. It never came. 

 

He opened his eyes to see the water holding her in place. A water barrier? Where did that come from?

He could see the confusion and anger in her face as she tried to escape the hold but couldn't. 

_"Let me go! How dare you get in my way!?"_

"Hmm, the tables have turned. I see you're now the one asking to be released."

Mingyu whipped his head to the side where an unfamiliar voice was coming from. 

On the first row of the bleachers there was another boy sitting. A smirk on his face, looking completely at ease. 

_"Is this your doing!? Let me go!! Stay out of this!"_

"I'd love to. But I was on my way home only to be disturbed by your commotion. A bit overdramatic, aren't we?" the boy frowned.

_"How dare you mock me! You'll be next to d-"_

The ghost never got to finish her threat as Mingyu watched the water surrounding her suddenly rise up to consume her.

He heard her shriek and watched as she was being swallowed up.

In a blink, everything settled. The water returned to its slow and steady state. 

 

And the ghost...

 

Gone. 

 

Mingyu blinked.

 

And again.

 

What the fuck just happened?

 

He looked over at Seungkwan who looked just as lost. He was looking into the depths of the pool as if searching for an explanation as to what just happened. Mingyu was processing the ordeal but his friend probably felt completely off the radar compared to Mingyu since he couldn't see ghosts. 

"Ah, what a headache. I'm going to treat myself tonight to ramen with an egg!" 

Oh. Right.

Mingyu nearly forgot about the boy until he heard his voice. He turned to observe him from where he was. 

The boy had the same uniform blazer that Mingyu and Seungkwan had. But his tie was red. So he was an upper year?

And more importantly, he was talking to the ghost. He can see them too? Mingyu wasn't alone? Was the water barrier his doing? 

The boy got up to leave but as if sensing Mingyu's gaze, he turned towards him. 

They made eye contact. The boy's face was void of any emotion. No fear could be seen unlike Mingyu who probably looked like a deer in headlights.

He turned back and made his way over to crouch in front of Mingyu. Mingyu had so many questions but he couldn't find his voice in the moment with a stranger up in his face.

He continued to stare and Mingyu was feeling more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. He cleared his throat and that seemed to shake the boy out of his trance.

"Huh... You. You're weird," the boy said with a tilt of his head.

"Um... what?"

"You're not normal. How did I not sense you before?"

"Uh... okay?? But my name isn't weird, I'm Kim Mingyu," he extended his hand towards the stranger.

The boy looked down at his hand then back to his face, "Jeon Wonwoo."

Mingyu awkwardly lowered his hand, "Um... some ghost, huh?"

Wonwoo stared curiously at Mingyu. Mingyu felt like he was being scrutinized under his gaze.

Mingyu tried again, "Was the water you?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Um, thank you! For doing that and saving my friend!"

"Mhm."

"I was wonderi-"

"You should check on your friend over there," Wonwoo said while his eyes flicked over to Seungkwan.

Mingyu looked over his shoulder. He had so many questions about ghosts for Wonwoo that he wanted to ask but the boy had already gotten up when Mingyu turned back. Mingyu was met with the view of Wonwoo's back walking away, backpack and blazer slung over one shoulder.

So much for answers, he thought. 

Mingyu sighed and made his way over to Seungkwan.

"Who was that Mingyu? No. First, tell me I didn't just imagine being dragged into the pool! You saw it didn't you!? What's going on!?"

Oh boy, this is going to be a  _long_  week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egg in ramen? peak of my cooking skill *chef's kiss* 
> 
> hello Wonwoo! I promised this is a minwon story, didn't I?
> 
> (also wow 100 hits!!! Thank you for clicking!! I never thought anyone would be interested in my mind mess :'))
> 
> stay strong,  
> em.


	4. Wrong Time, Wrong Place

"No."

"Please!?"

"If I've been saying no, what makes you think I'll give into your request this late in the game?"

"Fight resistance with persistence?"

"We are _not_ reverting back to the buddy system. Seungkwan, you're turning 18 in a couple of months. We aren't going to go down the hallways holding hands."

"I'm turning 18 in January, that's  _technically_ next year! Come on, Mingyu! The last week has been traumatizing! You never know what is lurking around the corner!"

Seungkwan hit the nail on the head about this week being the most traumatizing since Mingyu found out he can see ghosts. Witnessing his friend being attacked by a ghost was something Mingyu hopes he'll never have to see again. He was internally freaking out at the prospect that it  _could_  happen again but if he can convince Seungkwan it won't, maybe he'll start believing it too.

Mingyu looked up from his lunch and across the table to his friend, "I'll give you the point for having a rough week but like I said it won't happen again! I've gone this long and only got into trouble with a ghost once. Stop looking around! You're making people stare!"

"I'd rather play it safe than nearly die again Mingyu! I have a whole life to live still!"

Mingyu had explained the basics of his ability (gift? curse? he doesn't know) to Seungkwan the night of the encounter at the pool. Seungkwan decided he would sleepover because he needed the facts stat. With a tiny white lie told to both of their parents, they were holed up in Mingyu's room with snacks and Netflix playing to avoid complete silence. 

Mingyu explained how the voices he heard developed to seeing things that normal people couldn't.

Seungkwan was going to call bullshit on Mingyu's story. He was going to give Mingyu an ear full on how Mingyu really outdid himself on a stupid prank that nearly killed him until he turned away from Mingyu's laptop screen to face his friend. Seungkwan saw fear written all over Mingyu's face.

"Oh. You're not bullshitting me. It wasn't a prank?"

"Did you think I'd actually pull that stupid of a prank!? Do I look like one of those dipshit 'it's just a prank bro' youtubers!?" 

"I question your lack of judgment at times but I'll give you the point of not being utterly youtube moronic. But how long have you been seeing things?"

"Since I was 12? After that one accident it just never stopped. And you already know that I've been hearing things since we could recite the alphabet."

"And you kept all of this to yourself since then?" Seungkwan frowned.

Mingyu nodded. 

Even though Seungkwan was the one who had been in harm's way, he was the one to pull Mingyu into a tight hug. Mingyu would usually be worried when Seungkwan was nice to him but in that moment, he returned the embrace.

A tiny weight was lifted off his chest then. Someone would finally understood the fear he faces everyday. Trying to live a normal teenage life is a tad tricky when you see dead people since most people can't relate. Who do you confide in when none of this is supposed to be real? 

A perk of his ability was he slowly learned to tune out parts of the world and focus on what he needed to. Like in this moment, he just tuned out of Seungkwan's dramatic monologue of how the world would be missing out on history in the making if the ghost had gotten him. 

"...but thank God for that Wonwoo guy! We both would've been 6 feet under water without him. Have you talked to him again? Maybe he can help you understand your ability and all this supernatural stuff more?"

"No I haven't seen him around let alone talk to him. I only know his name and that he's a senior? We weren't really in the 20 questions mood, you know?"

"You could've asked for his number or something..."

"He refused my handshake, I took that as he has no interest in further interaction."

"Didn't he say something about sensing you? Maybe he sensed how annoying your ass is when he got close and said a big nope!"

Mingyu threw a chip at Seungkwan's head. Truth be told, Mingyu tried to do some digging of his own. He tried searching Wonwoo's name on different social media platforms but for the time he invested into internet stalking, results were subpar.

The most useful tidbit of information he found was a picture of Wonwoo and Jeonghan together from a year ago. Mingyu knew Seungcheol and Jeonghan were dating but to get to Jeonghan meant talking to Seungcheol, the boy he was actively avoiding until having to inevitably running into him in class.

After the fiasco of last Monday, the classroom was left in a state of disarray. Since it was _technically_ Seungcheol's cleaning day, he had to bare the brunt of their teacher's scolding and was assigned to cleaning duty for the next month to be an example of what happens when you're not responsible to other students. 

Mingyu had been purposely showing up seconds before the bell rings at the beginning of class and bolting out of his seat as soon as class ends. The last week has been a success but he'll have to face the wrath of Seungcheol eventually. 

For a human that is known as a golden retriever trapped in a human body, he's sure scary when he's not laughing or smiling.

Mingyu sighed. The time will come but he'll keep avoiding confrontation until necessary. He was in the midst of packing up his stuff when he heard it.

_"You useless human."_

He looked around quickly but saw nothing. 

Mingyu was pretty certain he could only hear ghosts within a certain range. If the ghost was not within normal human hearing distance, he'd hear muffled noise. But as he scanned the entire cafeteria, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

So where was the voice coming from?

"... So yeah. You owe me a lot big boy!"

"What?"

"Were you not listening again!? This is why no one wants to be friends with you!"

"Sorry I was distracted..."

Seungkwan's eyes went wide as he leaned in to whisper, "Is there a ghost nearby?"

"I can't tell? I heard something but don't see anything."

"I was going to charge interest for the information I procured but maybe not since I'd rather be a broke bitch than a dead one," Seungkwan said as he searched through his bag for something.

He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Mingyu, "I know you're a hopeless person so I did the digging for you."

Mingyu gave Seungkwan a skeptical look before unfolding what was given to him. It was a class schedule. 

"What am I supposed to do with your class schedule? And I already know this?"

Seungkwan blinked at him. He snatched the paper back and turned it to face Mingyu, "My God, I was only kidding before when I said you were hopeless but you truly are hopeless. Let me spell it out for you - top right corner."

Mingyu looked at it again and oh.

OH.

"How did you find Wonwoo's class schedule!?"

"It just takes a little digging and knowing some people," Seungkwan shrugged. 

"Isn't this invasion of privacy or something?!"

"I'm not stealing his credit card information! I just pulled some strings and found out where he may be at what time is all."

"That sounds like what a stalker turned murderer would say..."

"I mean if you have such a problem with it then I'll just keep this and throw it out later!"

Mingyu quickly snatched the schedule back, "Fine. I'll keep it for emergencies only!"

"This is for the greater good and keeping the world safe! You're doing us all a service."

The lunch bell rang signaling that it was time for afternoon classes to begin. As Seungkwan and him were making their way out within the mass of people, Mingyu heard the same voice. 

_"Time for the next."_

 

 

Considering how his last encounter with a ghost went terribly wrong to say the least,  Mingyu added to his lists of resolves: in addition to avoiding Seungcheol, ignore everything and anything supernatural for the time being.

He lasted to the end of the week. 

Mingyu didn't make any attempt to look for the source of the voice. The only issue he faced was he didn't stop hearing the same one every single day. To make matters worse, the voice got progressively darker as the week went by.

He could only ignore it for so long until he had to admit to himself - he was going to need backup. 

"I can't believe I'm actually listening to Seungkwan and his terrible advice," Mingyu mumbled to himself as he walked up a flight of stairs to get to room 317.

Terrible advice led him to be standing outside Wonwoo's math class just before the bell rang to dismiss students from their classes to the sweet freedom for lunch.

Mingyu watched as students started filing out of all the classrooms. He kept his eyes trained on the doorway of room 317, waiting for one particular boy. 

Wonwoo was one of the last people to leave the classroom. Mingyu pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and headed towards Wonwoo, who was quickly disappearing amongst all the other bodies surrounding them.

"Hey! Wonwoo! Wait!"

Wonwoo abruptly stopped and turned around so fast that Mingyu nearly ran right into him. 

Wonwoo looked him up and down before tilting his head to one side. He always felt like he was being judged under Wonwoo's gaze even though this was only their second encounter.

"Um. Hi!"

"You're the one from the pool earlier this week, right?"

"Oh. You remember me?"

"No. I just remembered wasting my time trying to help a useless kid save his friend."

"Um, alright. Well anyways, I'm Kim Mingyu!"

Silence. 

Wonwoo gave him a look, "Okay and?"

"And? I'm in year 11?"

"Didn't ask but why are you here, Mingyu? Scratch that, how did you know where I would be?"

Mingyu took one breath then his mouth just ran, "I promise I am totally not a stalker or anything! I found your class schedule through a friend who knows some people so he got access to it! I realized now as those words left I probably do sound like a stalker but I assure you I'll be out of your way after this! I just needed to ask you some stuff..."

"That sounds suspiciously close to what a stalker would want me to think."

"I said the same thing to Seungkwan!"

"Yet here you are."

"Yet here I am. Please don't take this the wrong way. I really just want to ask a few things."

Mingyu took a deep breath and waited for Wonwoo to reply. Wonwoo's face didn't change nor did he make any indication he was going to leave.

Mingyu took this as an opportunity to speak before he was asked to forever hold his peace, "So you can like see and hear things out of the ordinary, right?"

"You could simply say ghosts."

"Yes those things! So, uh. That thing at the pool earlier this week, that was your doing right?"

"You really need to work on specifying what you're talking about."

"The water and the ghost disappearing, that was all you, right?"

"The banishing? Yes, that was me."

"How did you do it? Was it like magic? Did you have some special school to learn all that? Can I go too or is it an exclusive thing?"

Wonwoo blinked, "What? You think there's a Hogwarts version for ghost hunters?"

"Is there?!"

Wonwoo shook his head, "Okay. I gave you the benefit of the doubt but clearly, you have zero knowledge of the supernatural."

"Well I never had anyone to really talk to this about," Mingyu mumbled.

"Really? That's odd..."

"What is?"

"No one in your family has the ability to see and hear ghosts?"

"No?"

"Interesting."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you for some advice. You're the only other person I know who can relate."

Wonwoo looked up at Mingyu's face and sighed, "Sorry to break it to you little kid. I'm not going to be the person who bestows all the knowledge onto you."

"What?! Why?! Wait little?! I'm taller!"

"The world we deal with isn't fun and games. I can't stick around with someone who knows nothing about the dangers and severity of what ghosts can do. It could endanger me and you."

"But -"

"Sorry, Mingyu. I gotta run. Hope you find the answers you need."

With that Wonwoo turned and walked away. Leaving a confused Mingyu not knowing what to do next.

He sighed, "So much for finding someone else with this stupid ability. I didn't even get to ask if he's been hearing the same voice as me."

The halls surrounding him were empty of any other bodies so Mingyu decided to make his way down to the cafeteria because food can cheer him up right? It's where he found Seungkwan already sitting at their usual table, on his phone. 

Mingyu frowned as he made his way over to his friend. He plopped his stuff down before plopping himself down and burying his head into his arms where he planned to stay for the remainder of lunch.

"So are you going to assume ostrich position for the duration of the next 40 minutes or?"

Mingyu looked up to see Seungkwan scrolling on his phone while holding a fork in his other hand.

Mingyu narrowed his eyes at his friend, "I shouldn't have listened to you. Now Wonwoo thinks I'm a stalker AND stupid."

"I can't help but agree."

"Excus-"

_"You. Yes. You will do fine as my next."_

"Mingyu?"

Mingyu saw concern written on Seungkwan's face. Seungkwan had one hand on top of Mingyu's crossed arms, trying to comfort his friend. Seungkwan already knows what's happening.

"Hey sorry but I gotta go. I'll text you later okay?"

"Please stay safe, Gyu. If I don't hear from you by the end of lunch,  bet your ass I'm calling 911."

Mingyu gave Seungkwan a small smile before getting up from his seat and exiting the cafeteria. He needed to find Wonwoo - even if he made a fool of himself, this ghost sounded like it meant business. 

 

 

Mingyu was jogging around all levels of the school in hopes of catching a glimpse or finding Wonwoo. He was back on the third floor where he had last seen the boy 15 minutes ago. He was busy checking every classroom when he ran into someone exiting the washroom.

Seungcheol.

The very Seungcheol he had been avoiding for the week. 

"Kim Mingyu! Get your ass back here!"

"No can do, hyung! I'll see you when I see you!" Mingyu yelled back while turning a corner at the end of the hall. Mingyu dashed into the nearest classroom he saw.

Maybe today was going to turn around for him because there was a storage closet at the back of the room. Without a second thought Mingyu leapt in and left the door slightly ajar so he wouldn't be locked in. 

He could feel all the blood moving through him trying to replenish the lost oxygen from the unexpected Seungcheol jumpscare and way too much running. 

Mingyu heard the sound of feet running and skidding to a stop in front of the class. Mingyu held his breathe as the door clicked open. He peaked out of the tiny sliver he had left upon entering the closet.

Oh God.

It was Seungcheol.

Mingyu was panicking but in the same instance wanted to jump out and just allow himself to torn apart by Seungcheol so he could just get it over with. But things have never went according to any gameplan for Mingyu.

 

_"Found you."_

 

Mingyu's eyes nearly fell out of his skull.

 

There it was.

 

The ghost he had heard all week. 

 

It was different compared to the others Mingyu has seen. Something was different. He could  _feel_ the energy the ghost was emitting - cold yet full of heated fury.

Mingyu was trying to wrap his head around what he felt and figure out how to act but before he could, the ghost had it's hands piercing through Seungcheol's chest. He heard his friend gasped and choke. Before falling to the ground - unconscious.

Mingyu could only watch in horror as the ghost cackled. 

_"Ah pathetic, humans. Such weak creatures but at least their bodies could be of use."_

He was in a state of confusion when he witnessed the ghost slowly disappear into Seungcheol's unconscious form. Seungcheol awoke but Mingyu knew that Seungcheol was no longer there.

Seungcheol's form was giving off an odd gleam. He was emitting the same cold feeling Mingyu had felt when the ghost entered the room - oh no.

The gears of Mingyu's mind finally clicked into place. 

His friend was possessed. 

Mingyu continued to stare and if he thought his day was turning around earlier, he was wrong. 

Seungcheol turned around. 

His eyes were pale, an icy gray and fogged over - no life to be seen in them.

Mingyu gasped before covering his mouth and internally scolding himself for being an idiot. 

But too late.

Seungcheol heard him and was headed straight towards Mingyu's hiding spot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> longest chapter yet??? *patting myself on the back*
> 
> an uneventful chapter but it'll get interesting in the next as we'll be meeting someone ;)
> 
> stay cool & keep hydrated,  
> em.


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